Archive for April, 2017

The Verizon IndyCar Series returns to the Valley of the Sun this weekend for the second time in a little more than a year, to race at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR). Recall that last year’s race was run in the first weekend in April, Due to the Final Four in Phoenix, IndyCar officials wisely decided to juggle the schedule this year and move the Phoenix race to the end of the month – so here we are.

With apologies to Mr. Charles Dickens for borrowing his title; one might expect the obligatory quote about it being the best of times or something to that effect. Unfortunately for one of the teams in the IndyCar paddock, the worst of times may be more appropriate since their drivers are currently ranked fifteenth and nineteenth in the points standings. A sample of three races is not a fair assessment of anything. Sometimes, it takes more than a couple of seasons to make a decision on whether something is working or not. That being said, it is awfully tempting to go ahead and give a thumbs-down on the two-car effort of AJ Foyt Enterprises being located in two different cities.

There are so many advantages to attending a race in person, there is not enough room to list them here. If you’ve ever attended an IndyCar race, there is no need for me to explain that statement. However, one of the few disadvantages compared to sitting on the couch and watching on television is that when you are at the track it is sometimes tough to keep up with everything gong on.

For the second time in three years, Josef Newgarden leaves Alabama as a champion. The Nashville product earned his first-ever IndyCar win two years ago while driving for CFH Racing. Today, he won his fourth IndyCar race overall and his first while driving for Roger Penske. It took Simon Pagenaud a year and three races for him to win his first at Team Penske. It took Newgarden just three races to pay The Captain back for hiring him. I don’t think I’m going out on a limb to say that it won’t be the last.

The final warm-up for the Verizon IndyCar Series was delayed a few minutes for a track repair after the Porsche GT3 race this morning. Marco Andretti paced the field with a time of 1:14.3711; almost eight seconds slower than Will Power’s pole time set yesterday. Of course, this practice was run in the wet with rain tires. From the looks of things, the race will have a dry start later today – but that’s just a guess. Another cloudburst will change that.

When you write the “color” pieces for a blog, it becomes more and more difficult to think of things to write about. I have written about Barber Motorsports Park many times over the years, and while it is still beautiful, and a definite “put this on my list of tracks to visit–you can only show a picture of the guys on the wheels statue so many times before it becomes old hat.

Good morning from a rain-soaked Barber Motorsports Park. As predicted, the storms went through last night, first appearing around 6:30. They were supposed to be cleared out by 6:00 am. That didn’t happen. It is still misting as I type, but this is a road course so there will be racing today. In fact, there is racing going on right now as the Porsche GT3 race is going on.

Flickr Photos

When Alexander Rossi played some shenanigans with the start of the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio a couple of weeks ago, many fans and a few drivers thought it was a dirty move. As the pole-sitter, Rossi had control of the field as they approached the starting line. By slowing down significantly and making everyone […]